The Origins of Halloween: Samhain

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!! I am currently in Spain right now and it is simply lush. The weather is really warm (one might even say hot?) and despite trying to balance all the work I have been set, I have been enjoying this holiday and relaxing a bit. As we all know, Halloween is coming up very soon and as someone who loves this time of year more than anything, I thought I'd blog about why we celebrate Halloween because, surprisingly, there is some history behind knocking on strangers' doors and asking for sweets.

Samhain

In ancient Celtic times, they celebrated their New Year on the 1st of November. This is because it marked the end of the harvest and the start of a cold, dreary winter. During those times, medicine was obviously not as advanced as it currently is right now, therefore, many people died during the winter, making it an ominous time of year. The Celts believed that on the 31st of October, the line between the world we live in right now and the world of the dead was blurred, so they celebrated a festival called Samhain (pronounced saah-wn). They also believed that the presence of the spirits made it easier for druids (Celtic priests/magicians/fortune tellers) to make prophecies about the future, and so, a lot of trust was placed in these fortunes and provided comfort for those who struggled through the winter. People used to wear masks and costumes to ward off the evil spirits and lit bonfires to create animal sacrifices for Celtic deities. The fire was also functional as it used to help people stay warm through the winter and essentially survive. Many Celts also attempted to read each other's fortunes and create prophecies for each other. Food was also prepared for the living and the dead, what was not consumed was shared with the less fortunate.

Influence of Samhain in Modern Life 

While I don't know where the knocking on doors and asking for sweets came from, we can most definitely infer that many Halloween traditions which are currently celebrated may have originated from this Celtic festival. The costumes and masks is something that has continued and the belief of 'haunted' things due to spirits and ghosts floating around is also still seen around. In terms of divinity, many practising witches still celebrate Samhain alongside or instead of Halloween. On an altar, they will place food for deceased ancestors and visit cemeteries to celebrate their family. I know that around this time I always find peopled going to clairvoyants for tarot readings or other kinds of readings 'in the spirit of Halloween' and honestly I really want to do a couple of readings myself to see if it's 'more accurate' per say.

Trick or Treating?

Ok so I know I mentioned above about how I don't know where this practise originated from, but, I found a couple of articles online about the history of it so I may as well write a bit about it as well. During Samhain, there was a tradition called 'souling' and this was when the poor went and knocked on the doors of the wealthy and received pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners' dead relatives. Nowadays, I guess we just decided to switch it up a bit and ask for sweets.

I hope you all enjoyed this week's post!! I am super excited about Halloween and black cats and sweets and all things scary, this is genuinely my favourite time of year. I also want to try and do a couple of tarot readings and see what's up with the influence of Samhain. I am also lowkey sad that I won't be able to go trick or treating anymore because I don't think many houses will give sweets to a five foot eight and a half, nearly eighteen year old girl who puts on a pair of cat ears and whiskers. However, I will buy a bunch of sweets and chill at home and eat them all while watching movies because what else does one really need? Also, super exciting news, I GOT MY FIRST UNIVERSITY OFFER!! Once I get my A-Level results and the university I go to is finalised, I'll update you guys with what's going on but yeah I am so happy that a university wants me hahaha. Anyways, I hope you have a really good Halloween and week ahead, love you guys <33